


A Comforting Touch

by fandommatchmaker19



Category: For the People (TV 2018)
Genre: 1x08: Flippity Flop, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 11:33:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19356202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandommatchmaker19/pseuds/fandommatchmaker19
Summary: Set during 1x08. Roger is a little reluctant and Jill finally convinces him to go to the diner. Or the one time, Jill moved their relationship along.





	A Comforting Touch

“Can we get out of here?” she blurts out impulsively as she stares at him. Roger’s expression, still drawn and grim, becomes one of surprise. Roger licks his lip and looks up at her skeptically.

“What?”

“C’mon, let’s get out of here,” she says, standing up, and motioning for him. Roger still seems reluctant, his blue eyes trained on her, but doesn’t move.

“Jill…” he starts with a sigh. “Let’s just…” he waves his hand between them, but Jill shakes her head.

“C’mon, we can talk about Judge Cameron later,” she rolls her eyes slightly at him, brushing it off. Roger licks his lips, his head down. “Okay, what is going on?” she lets out an exasperated sigh as she turns to face him and notices the grim look on his face. “Roger,” she says carefully and sighs. “You did the right thing,” she echoes her earlier sentiment, and at that he finally looks up. “You know that,” she adds gently as she leans against the side of his desk.

Roger seems to ponder what she’d said for a moment, his face unreadable except for the small changes around his eyes. [Over the years they’d worked together and known each other, Jill had grown accustomed to Roger’s usual lack of emotional reactions and had gotten good at reading him]. “What if…” he hesitates for a second before continuing, “…what if I could’ve done more?” He lifts his eyes to meet her gaze and she’s slightly taken aback by emotion that is clear in his blue eyes and her heart aches slightly when she sees the guilt and self-blame so clearly. Jill lets out a soft sigh.

“Maybe you could have,” she says finally after taking a moment to organize her thoughts. “Who knows? But, you did fight for Brian Torres and you should be proud of yourself for it. You fought for him as hard as you could, you went to war for him. _That_ is a victory,” she tells him honestly, her own voice soft and sincere. “It’s a win, Roger,” she adds, her lips curling into a smile and she can see that even though he doesn’t quite believe her, he accepts and concedes. [They’d never done this. Sure, they’d touched each other – handshakes in court, gleeful and impulsive embraces when the Yankees won a game, high five’s and gentle elbows in the ribs, occasionally slaps on the shoulder. Still, this is different. Not in the nature of the gesture, but Jill is aware that the purpose is different. The feel]. Ever so gently, and entirely casually, she lays her palm on his arm, slowly rubbing her thumb against the material of his jacket. [Jill’s heart beats rapidly in her chest and she can feel the electric pulsation where her skin touches his jacket]. For a second, Roger freezes, rigid and still, but then he relaxes underneath her touch and he turns, tilts his head up to look at her, his blue eyes full of emotion as they stare deeply into her green ones.

“Thank you, Jill,” he says softly. “And, I should say congratulations. You won,” he tells her sincerely, though a bit dejectedly, his lips curling into a half-hearted smile. Jill smiles back. [It’s the most congratulations he’ll give her and she’ll take it].

“Okay, now, can we get out of here? Let’s go to that diner. I want to see what that Denver omelet is all about and we can talk about Judge Cameron there,” she tells him, standing up and motions for him. For a moment, Roger seems to hesitate, but then he finally stands up as well.

“Okay, let’s go,” he agrees before grabbing his bag then his coat. He opens the door but motions for her to go first, and there’s a short, awkward moment where neither of them is going through the door, but finally Jill steps out of Roger’s office. Roger follows immediately after, briefly stopping to bid his secretary goodbye and tell her to go home. They walk along the well-familiar path out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, down the twenty-one floors to the lobby before crossing onto Foley Square and making their way towards the diner, their shoulders close together, elbows barely brushing against each other. [Jill is hyper-aware of how close he is to her, the swarm of butterflies in her stomach, the way he looks at her when he thinks she’s not looking, the way their fingers are barely inches from touching]. He holds the door to the diner open for her, smiling somewhat furtively and guiltily her way before following her inside. She lets him order for her, with a roll of her eyes, before pulling out the champagne bottle. Realization seems to dawn on him and his lips curl into a smirk.

Roger chuckles and smiles widely. “This isn’t a work meeting, is it?” he guesses and she smirks.

“No, this is a diner,” she tells him matter-of-factly, her green eyes meeting his as she opens the bottle while he switches the glasses with the other side of the table. They smile at each other as she hands fills the glasses, and for a moment it feels as if they’re the only ones there. “You’ll appreciate this story,” she adds before delving into the story of why the bottle of champagne had been in unopened since 2004. And, Roger smiles at her as he listens to her and Jill can feel herself warm beneath his gaze.

“This is still good, even after all these years,” she muses, as the bubbles pop on her tongue.

“It is,” he smirks before grinning widely. “Thank you,” he says again.


End file.
